Fred Atkinson (1910 – May 14, 1988), better known by his ring name Fred Atkins, was a New Zealand-born Canadian

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

, trainer, referee,

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

, and announcer, best known for his time with

Maple Leaf Wrestling Maple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name in the 1970s and 1980s of the professional wrestling promotion run by Frank Tunney in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History Queensbury Athletic Club The promotion, initially known as the Queensbury Athl ...

Early life

Atkinson was born in

Westport, New Zealand Westport ( mi, Kawatiri) is a town in the West Coast region of the South Island of New Zealand. Established in 1861, it is the oldest European settlement on the West Coast. Originally named Buller, it is on the right bank and at the mouth of th ...

. He worked in the

Australian outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

cutting railway ties during the Great Depression. Atkinson spent his spare time wrestling for exercise and recreation. He wrestled as an amateur wrestler for five years before turning pro during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Professional wrestling career

Atkinson first wrestled as an amateur in New Zealand before turning pro in the late 1930s. On October 10, 1942, he defeated Pat Meehan in a tournament final to win the

Australian Heavyweight Championship The Australian Heavyweight Wrestling Championship was the first Heavyweight professional wrestling championship in Australia. Title history See also *Professional wrestling in Australia Professional wrestling in Australia makes up a sma ...

. He wrestled in New Zealand, Australia and Singapore into the mid 1940s. Atkinson's bout against world champion

Jim Londos Christos Theofilou ( el, Χρήστος Θεοφίλου; January 2, 1894 – August 19, 1975), better known as "The Golden Greek" Jim Londos (Greek: Τζίμ Λόντος), was a Greek American professional wrestler. Londos was one of the most p ...

in November 1946 was held at Sydney Stadium in front of a record setting 14,000 spectators. Atkinson remained champion for several years until leaving the country in 1949. From there, he immigrated to Canada where he started a long association with Toronto promoter

Frank Tunney Francis Martin Tunney (November 12, 1912 - May 10, 1983) was a Canadian professional boxing and wrestling promoter, based in Toronto. Biography Early life He was educated in Markham, Ontario, and went to a business college after high school. Hi ...

. While Atkins was not flashy compared to his fellow wrestlers he put on strong efforts as a heel. As well as Toronto he appeared in St. Louis and Chicago facing the likes of

Moose Cholak Edward S. Cholak (March 17, 1930 – October 31, 2002) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Moose Cholak. Cholak competed in North American regional promotions from 1952 until 1987, primarily in the Midwest and nort ...

Sweet Daddy Siki Reginald Siki (born June 16, 1940) is an American-Canadian retired professional wrestler and singer, best known as Sweet Daddy Siki. He is believed to be the first African-American to challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Professi ...

, Pat Flanagan,

Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 ...

, Whipper Billy Watson and Pat O'Connor. For a time he also appeared in San Francisco. In Toronto he pulled a major victory over Watson for the NWA British Empire Championship before losing it back to him. Into the 1960s he became a popular and respected baby face but again turned heel as a manager mainly to the men he also trained like Giant Shoehi Baba and

Tiger Jeet Singh Jagjeet Singh Hans (born April 3, 1944) is an Indo-Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler, known better by his ring name Tiger Jeet Singh. He was known for his elaborate ring entrances, and generally performed as a heel. He wrestled in Japan ...

. Atkinson also worked as a pre-season conditioning trainer for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

hockey club. Later he worked as a referee for the Tunney promotion and wrestled his final match in 1974 at age 63. He lived in

Crystal Beach, Ontario Crystal Beach is a lakefront community in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. As of 2016, it had a population of 8,524. It was named for the "crystal clear" water conditions present when it was founded on the northeast shore of Lake Erie, across from B ...

, near

Fort Erie Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is directly across the river from Buffalo, New York, and is the site of Old Fort Erie which played a prominent role in the War of 1812. Fort Erie is one of Ni ...

and when training wrestlers would have them run along a

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...

beach on the sand to build their leg strength. As a referee he was no nonsense. If a wrestler wouldn't let go of a hold Atkins would shove an elbow in his face. At

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

he refereed the February 6, 1977, NWA World Heavyweight title match in which Harley Race beat

Terry Funk Terrence Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American retired professional wrestler, rapper, disc jockey and actor. Funk is known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – ...

for the championship. On another card between

Superstar Billy Graham Eldridge Wayne Coleman (born June 7, 1943), better known by his ring name "Superstar" Billy Graham, is an American former professional wrestler. He gained recognition for his tenure as the WWWF Heavyweight Champion in 1977–1978. He is a three- ...

and prelim Terry Yorkston he angrily removed his shirt and threatened to go at Graham as Graham roughed up Yorkston after the match. In 1977 he looked after follow longtime wrestler Lee Henning in his home until Henning died there of cancer. As the Tunney promotion went through changes holding cards for the American Wrestling Association,

NWA Mid-Atlantic Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promo ...

and the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

he stayed on as a referee while working as a trainer for the Buffalo Sabers hockey club and later for the

Championships and accomplishments

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...

NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) The Florida version of the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was the major singles professional wrestling championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Florida territory, Championship Wrestling Florida. It existed from 1962 until 1987, ...

(1 time) *

NWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship (Toronto version) The Toronto version of the NWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship was a major singles title in that city's NWA affiliate, Maple Leaf Wrestling, from 1941 until 1967, when the title was abandoned. Title history See also *List of Nationa ...

(1 time) **

NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship The NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling championship in the Canadian promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any ty ...

(1 time) - with

Lord Athol Layton Allan Layton (August 20, 1919 – January 18, 1984) known by his ring name Lord Athol Layton, was an English-Australian professional wrestler, amateur boxer, and professional wrestling commentator, best remembered as being a major wrestling att ...

NWA International Tag Team Championship (Toronto version) The Toronto version of the NWA International Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling championship in the Canadian promotion Maple Leaf Wrestling from 1961 through 1977. The title replaced the original top tag championshi ...

(

4 times "4 Times" (stylized as "4 TIMES") is the 50th single by pop/ R&B singer Koda Kumi. It was released on August 17, 2011 and debuted at No. 6, remaining on the Oricon charts for nine consecutive weeks. In commemoration of it being the fiftieth singl ...

) - with Professor Hiro (3) and

(1) * Mid-South Sports ** NWA International Tag Team Championship (Georgia version) (1 time) - with Ike Eakins *

NWA San Francisco NWA San Francisco was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in San Francisco, California in the United States. Founded in 1935 by "The Utica Panther" Joe Malcewicz (1897–1962), the promotion joined the National Wrestling Alliance in ...

NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) member NWA San Francisco promoted a professional wrestling tag team championship under the name NWA World Tag Team Championship from 1950 until 1961 in and around their local territory until it closed. When S ...

( 1 time) - with Ray Eckert **NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) (3 times) - with Ray Eckert *Other titles **

(1 time) **Silver Belt Australian Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

;General * ;Specific

External links

Obsessed With Wrestling (ARCHIVED)

Fred Atkins at WrestlingData.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Fred 1910 births 1988 deaths 20th-century professional wrestlers Canadian male professional wrestlers New Zealand male professional wrestlers People from Westport, New Zealand Professional wrestling announcers Professional wrestling referees New Zealand emigrants to Canada NWA International Tag Team Champions (Toronto version) NWA British Empire Heavyweight Champions (Toronto version)